The Top 10 Dolphins Season Openers

Revisiting memorable games from the perfect game to Marino to Tua and Tyreek

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) catches a 4-yard touchdown pass against Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Michael Davis (43) in the fourth quarter at SoFi Stadium. / kirby lee-usa today sports

The Miami Dolphins will be looking to make it four victories in a row in season openers when they face the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

This will be first season opener between the teams, with Jacksonville being the last AFC team the Dolphins have faced in an opener.

Overall, the Dolphins have a 32-25-1 record in openers, and along the way there have been some memorable games. Here's our countdown of the top 10, based on excitement level, overall significance and uniqueness of the contests.

10 — 1995: Miami 52, N.Y. Jets 14

This wasn’t a particularly exciting game, but beating the Jets by 38 points deserves recognition. The Dolphins took advantage of six Jets turnovers.

9 — 2014: Miami 33, New England 20

The second half of that opener, when the Dolphins outscored the Patriots 23-0, might have been the finest half of the millennium. Newcomer Knowshon Moreno set the tone with 134 rushing yards, while Cameron Wake had two sacks and two forced fumbles.

8 — 1972: Miami 20, Kansas City 10

This was the much-anticipated rematch of the Christmas Day classic, as well as the first game at Arrowhead Stadium, and the Dolphins dominated to start their march to a perfect season. The Dolphins took advantage of four turnovers to build a 20-0 lead on a day when Larry Csonka rushed for 118 yards.

7 — 1984: Miami 35, Washington 17

This masterful performance by Dan Marino served as an opening act to his record-setting 1984 season. Marino threw five touchdown passes to help the Dolphins dominate a Washington team coming off two consecutive Super Bowl appearances.

6 — 1992: Miami 27, Cleveland 23

This actually was a Week 2 game, but it became the Dolphins opener after the original opener against New England was postponed because of Hurricane Andrew. The Dolphins won on a late Mark Higgs touchdown after future Miami backup Bernie Kosar had brought the Browns back from a 20-3 fourth-quarter deficit to take a 23-20 lead.

5 — 1999: Miami 38, Denver 21

The Dolphins opened the 1999 season with a Monday night road game against the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, though it was Denver’s first game without John Elway. Future Dolphins backup Brian Griese actually had a good game for Denver, but the Dolphins played a clean game and got a Jason Taylor fumble return for a touchdown as an exclamation point.

4 — 2001: Miami 31, Tennessee 23

The Dolphins had a tough opening assignment on the road for a Sunday night game, but pulled off an impressive victory thanks to Lamar Smith’s 65-yard touchdown reception and new Hall of Famer Zach Thomas’ famous pick-six punctuated by his forward flip into the end zone.

3 — 2018: Miami 27, Tennessee 20

This game forever will be remembered for the two lengthy lightning delays that made it the longest game in NFL history, clocking at a ridiculous 7 hours, 8 minutes. But it also was a game filled with big plays — in the fourth quarter alone, the Dolphins got a 102-yard kickoff return by Jakeem Grant and a 75-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill to Kenny Stills, and the Titans got a 94-yard kickoff return by Darius Jennings.

2 — 2023: Miami 36, LA. Chargers 34

The Dolphins passing game was absolutely unstoppable in this back-and-forth affair at SoFi Stadium. Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill capped off a huge day for both with a 4-yard game-winning touchdown pass for the eighth and final lead change of the game before the defense, after struggling most of the day, made a late stand.

1 — 1994: Miami 39, New England 35

Maybe the most memorable Dan Marino moment in a career filled with them. In his first regular season game since he had torn his Achilles tendon the previous October, Marino outdueled Drew Bledsoe in a dazzling display of passing. Three of Marino’s five touchdown passes on the day went to Irving Fryar, including the game-winning 35-yard hook-up on a fourth-and-5. The game will be featured in a mini-documentary.